Bfm :: Night School

<p>This week we consider the humbling lessons from Meratasuara, Projek Dialog's upcoming exhibition that explores the intricacies of engaging with peripherality. How does art broaden (or limit) multicultural understanding? What does it mean to designate a perspective or community as 'marginal'? How do we ensure that a 'process'-oriented project remains creative and rigorous without beholding it to a rigid structure? We reflect on these questions and more with exhibition curator Suzy Sulaiman and comrade Simon Soon.</p>

<p>We offer you a general introduction to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the increasingly popular martial arts. We look into its history and key components alongside suggestions for what to keep in mind when trying it for the first time.</p>

<p>We try to understand "emotional intelligence" this week as Vizla helps us go through Daniel Goleman's classic book. What does it mean to understand and express out emotions wisely? Where does patience and resolve come in? Tune in to find out!</p>

<p>This week, we critically explore the cultural significance of bookstores. What are they good for? Do they play a role in cultivating a more critically-informed culture? Or are they just another form of inconspicuous consumerism? How do we tell the difference between enterprises that aim to curate certain critical discourses from purely for-profit initiatives? Owners of two different types of independent bookstores join us this week to help us think through these questions and more.</p>

<p>We consider the margins of the New Economic Policy now after some decades of hindsight into its gains and losses. What are the narratives and experiences that tend to be overlooked when considering its impact on Malays? Featuring special guest Professor Maznah Mohamad.</p>

<p>Knowledge production occurs in a political economy that limits discourse to certain rigid epistemic and class presumptions. In this panel, we speak of different ways that this can be undone. We consider the impact of colonial history, the gap between modernity and tradition, and the ethics of discovering.</p>

<p>Ecological collapse, mass extinction and increasing inequality. These are just a few in a long list of crises that face today's youths. How does one be young in a world that seems so rapidly falling apart? Tune in this week to find out.</p>

<p>Vizla Kumaresan, clinical psychologist and co-host of Digital Desires, joins us to explain the whys and hows of therapy. Among other things, we look into the relationship between emotional health and well being, as well as what makes therapy a unique experience.</p>

<p>Joyce Liu visits us all the way from Taipei to share the history of cultural studies in Taiwan. She locates the emergence of the field as a reaction to Martial Law and the need for knowledge production to be in tune with democratisation and popular struggles.</p>

<p>Every year, Parti Sosialis Malaysia organises a conference where everyone is invited to debate the major topics confronting the left and the world more broadly. Comrades Arul and Sharan join us to talk about this year's conference programme and the issues they aim to address.</p>

<p>Given the global resurgence of right-wing politics into the mainstream, Sharaad and Fuad ask: what kind of future will liberalism have? We consider some of liberalism&rsquo;s limits and problematic assumptions as well as the key questions to ask, in hoping for a better future.</p>

<p>How do we affirm life in a world that's breaking down? How do we stay hopeful while politics, nature and the economy are falling apart? What role could ugly emotions - fear, pessimism, resignation, anxiety etc - play to refine our ideals?<br /><br /></p> <p>ILHAM plays host to this live edition of BFM Night School which reflects on those questions and more to understand the uses and abuses of feelings amidst precarious times.<br /><br /></p> <p>Inequality is widening and nuclear warfare is likelier than ever, intensifying fears as all sides evoke their insecurities for privilege and attention. Our era of digital hyper-connectivity has also amplified exclusion and inequality. Our political vocabulary is increasingly dominated by emotional wounds and appeals to injury.<br /><br /></p> <p>Join us as we think through the ways we can grapple with the challenging present without losing our sense of curiosity and connection.<

<p>The heyday of positive-thinking self-help is over as popular psychology makes more room for negative emotions. We look into this development by considering the lessons in guilt, shame, sadness, struggle and other downcast feelings. How might they offer a more sober and grounded appreciation of 'happiness'? Why does it hurt so much to care? Tune in with a little help from Sandy Clarke and Eugene Tee.</p>

<p>We feature a panel to explore the rise of activism among Malaysian youths. Is it a fad or is it substantial? How does it differ to previous generations? Is there long term potential, or is it just nothing more than contained social media angst? Netusha Naidu and Lim Yi Wei help us make sense of it all.</p>

<p>We welcome Uthaya Sankar SB, author, activist and media personality to the show to talk about Indian / Hindu influences in Malay and Malaysian culture. It is more extensive and profound than you think! Tune in to find out more!</p>

<p>Aslam Abdul Jalil gives us an overview of the refugee situation in Malaysia. We look at the extent of the problem, how it ties to global trends and some of the key considerations we should keep in mind when reading or approaching this very contested issue.</p>

<p>We welcome Kua Kia Soong to the show. The legendary scholar, activist, and educator shares his thoughts on the power of history and alternative Merdeka narratives, while reflecting on his decades of advocacy for the marginalised.</p>

<p>We bring together a politician, a youth activist, and a researcher from Merdeka Center to talk about why youths are jaded and disoriented with politics. Awareness of issues and socioeconomic tensions are at an all-time high, and yet politics is not their priority. What explains this? Shakir Ameer, Victoria Cheng, and Ehsan Shahwahid share their thoughts.</p>

<p>We get a primer on the world of insects today via our resident entomologist, Law Yao Hua. What makes them fascinating? How do they stand out from others in the animal kingdom? What makes their evolutionary trajectory so dynamic?</p>

<p>We reflect on pottery, sculpture and ceramics today to discuss the tactility of the creative process. Joining us to do that is Albert Setyawan, artist and scholar in the making, who shares his thoughts and experience on how and where the cultural, material symbolic and spiritual come together in the good use of hands and earth.</p>